Blog

Building the Tax Team of the Future to Navigate the Regulatory Storm – Webinar

There’s a growing regulatory storm on the horizon, impacting tax professionals’ roles and skills. This is causing a shift in how businesses are preparing their compliance teams to keep their businesses ahead of the curve.   Join Matt Walsh, Principal Indirect Tax and Mark Christenson, Director, of Sovos on October 24 at 2:00 PM Eastern […]

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EU VAT Invoicing Controls: What the Unfolding Policy Mix Tells Us About the Future

The European Commission recently made a big communications splash about what’s literally being positioned as the ‘final’ EU VAT system. The change in the logic to be applied as to the ‘place of supply’ is indeed fundamental to the VAT system and its legal underpinnings, and it will affect companies in their administrative practices. So […]

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VAT and B2G Reporting Newsletter: September 2017

Keep current with VAT and B2G Reporting news without having to sift through the news every day. Here are the most significant happenings in the world of VAT and B2G Reporting from September: UK HMRC Opens Consultation for Further “Making Tax Digital” Legislation Last week, Her Royal Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the opening of a […]

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European Commission Proposes VAT Overhaul

On October 4, 2017, the European Commission published a set of proposals aimed at simplifying and modernizing the current VAT system. The “cornerstone” principles of the Commission’s approach are:    Combating VAT fraud and reducing the €150 billion VAT Gap. Establishing a “One Stop Shop” for cross-border trade. Consistently applying the “destination principle” for VAT. […]

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Sovos Continues European Expansion with Acquisition of FiscalReps, Adding Leading Solution for Insurance Premium Tax Compliance

Earlier today, we announced that Sovos has acquired U.K.-based FiscalReps, Europe’s leading solution for Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) compliance. The acquisition does a few important things for our clients and the market as a whole: It adds IPT to our global solution for insurance companies, helping those businesses consolidate solutions on a single platform with […]

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159.5 Billion Reasons Why the Global Tax Landscape Is Changing 

The VAT Gap in the EU was estimated to be €159.5 billion in 2014, and the enormity of that gap is one of the reasons why the global tax landscape is changing so dramatically. Sovos explained this development to attendees of the FD Exchange conference, which took place in the Steigenberger Airport Hotel in Amsterdam. […]

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Does the Market Require E-Invoicing Compliance and VAT Automation in One Service?

Two years ago, a small number of forward-looking enterprises issued RFPs requesting ‘end-to-end invoice compliance automation services’. These RFPs requested all VAT-related compliance decisions to be managed through a single SaaS platform which integrated with the requesting company’s invoicing engine. In this article, we’re exploring the background and implications of this apparent evolution in market […]

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VAT Newsletter: August 2017

Keep current with VAT news without having to sift through the news every day. Here are the most significant happenings in the world of VAT reporting from August: International News OECD: OECD Publishes Comments on Model Tax Convention On August 11, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published comments to its newly-released 2017 Model […]

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IoT Real-Time Tax Controls for Russian B2C Transactions

Recently, most medium and large retail businesses across Russia shifted to internet-connected cash desks that every day, in real-time, report to the Federal Tax Administration approximately 70 million B2C transactions. According to official sources, since July 1st 2017 when the mandate entered into force, over 6 billion B2C electronic receipts have been issued so far […]

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VAT Country News Summary for July 2017

Keep current with VAT news without having to sift through the news every day. Here are the most significant happenings in the world of VAT reporting from July: United Kingdom Announces Change in Timetable for “Making Tax Digital” Initiative for Businesses On July 13, 2017, the parliament of the United Kingdom, along with Her Majesty’s […]

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Spain SII Requirements Expanded; New Mandates Begin January 1

Businesses in two of Spain’s autonomous communities – Basque Country and Navarra – will soon be subject to Spain’s Immediate Supply of Information on VAT (SII) mandate. On July 1, 2017, Spain launched SII, requiring companies operating in the country to electronically submit ledger and invoice details. With the extension into two of Spain’s autonomous communities, […]

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The SAF-T Series Part 1: Periodical Tax Reporting in Poland

At Sovos, we often find ourselves researching many different areas of compliance. Periodical tax reporting is one of the areas we’ve had reason to keep a close eye on. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to argue that tax authorities are getting increasingly more creative when it comes to finding new areas to come down hard […]

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United Kingdom Announces Change in Timetable for “Making Tax Digital” Initiative for Businesses

On July 13, 2017, the parliament of the United Kingdom, along with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), announced that the roll-out of the ‘Making Tax Digital for Businesses’ will be delayed until April of 2019. This initiative, first decided upon in December of 2015, is an effort by the government of the U.K., to digitize […]

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SII Reporting to be Adopted in the Basque Region

Organizations operating in the Basque region of Spain will soon be required to comply with SII reporting requirements. As reported in this forum, effective July 1 most companies operating in Spain are now required to transmit information to the Spanish Tax Administration (AEAT) regarding purchase and sale transactions within a few days of invoicing. Today, […]

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United Kingdom to Modify Place of Supply Rules for Telecommunications Services

The United Kingdom has announced plans to eliminate its “use and enjoyment” provision for VAT on business-to-consumer (B2C) telecommunications services used outside of the European Union. Schedule 4A of the VAT Act of 1994 currently treats telecommunication services used outside of an EU member state as taking place where consumed, even if the service would […]

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French Court Strikes Down Google VAT Bill

On July 12, 2017, the Tribunal Administratif de Paris struck down a bill of more than 1 billion euros assessed by the French government against Google for back taxes, including VAT. The Tribunal found in particular that Google did not have sufficient human and technical resources in France to subject the company to VAT; instead, the […]

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Germany Publishes Guidelines on VAT Exemption for Frozen Gametes

The Federal Ministry of Finance has released guidance related to a VAT exemption on storage fees for frozen reproductive material. When frozen gametes are stored for therapeutic purposes – such as contributing to a pregnancy as part of fertility treatment – the storage fee is properly VAT exempt. Absent a direct therapeutic purpose, however, storage fees for […]

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Czech Republic Publishes Guidance on Changes to Filing Instructions for the VAT Control Statement

The Financial Administration of the Czech Republic recently published amended filing instructions for the “Kontrolní hlášení”, or the “Check Report” form, which is a required filing for all taxable persons under the Czech VAT Act. Among the changes to the instructions is, first, a new requirement for contract companies (partnership-structured entities) to now file by individual partner instead […]

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